The Mechanical Heart

Move to New York

In the summer of 1951, Clarence Dennis accepted the position of Chief of Surgery at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center and transferred all of his heart-lung equipment to New York in order to continue his research.* Upon his departure, Dennis acknowledged that advances made with the heart-lung machine were accomplishments of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. Dennis arranged for the State University of New York to reimburse the University of Minnesota for his heart-lung equipment. The amount received was used by the Department of Surgery for further open heart research.

* Dennis and his team in New York achieved their first clinical success with an improved heart-lung machine in 1955.

Correspondence, Laurence Lunden to Clarence Dennis regarding reimbursement for apparatus used for the heart-lung research project

Correspondence, Clarence Dennis to Laurence Lunden regarding reimbursement for apparatus used for the heart-lung research project

Correspondence, Clarence Dennis to Owen Wangensteen regarding reimbursement for apparatus used for the heart-lung research project

Correspondence, C. Walton Lillehei to Laurence Lunden requesting to use funds from the sale of Clarence Dennis' equipment to attend a conference about pump-oxygenators